World Chess Championship 2013 - a partner chess blog of India's first chess features print magazine Black and White published from Lucknow since 2004.

World Chess Championship 2013 Anand vs Carlsen: Norway's Magnus Carlsen is the new World Chess Champion. He has played exciting chess to dethrone Viswanathan Anand of India in Chennai. Our readers' poll that pegged Magnus Carlsen to be the new World Chess Champion with 1438 votes as compared to 1300 for Anand has proved right. Read more about the final Game 10 at the World Chess Championship.

World Chess Championship 2013 (Venue: Chennai Hyatt Regency) Anand vs Carlsen: World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has said he would try to understand how his next challenger World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen is going to play, but is not bothered about who is going to train Carlsen for the match even if it is legendary 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov.

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen won the FIDE World Championship Candidates Chess Tournament in London on April 1, 2013 thereby setting up the title clash with reigning (defending) World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand.

The fifth round at the 8th Tal Chess Memorial on June 18, 2013 was the last time World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand met across the board before the 2013 World Chess Championship.

Viswanathan Anand, the reigning World Chess Champion, has held the top title five times. He was crowned thus in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012). He has remained the undisputed World Champion since 2007 and was also the FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion in 2003.

The 12th Women's World Chess Champion, Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk has the unique distinction of being the woman chess player to have beaten both the World No. 1 and men's World Chess Champion - Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand. Here are the two videos from Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk's official YouTube channel.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

NEW DELHI: The World Chess Championship loss in Chennai had "knocked the stuffing out" of Viswanathan Anand but the five-time winner on Wednesday said that clinching the Candidates title has boosted his confidence and he would try to avenge his loss to Magnus Carlsen later this year.

Three losses over 10 games without a win and the world Championship title was in tatters last November but Anand soon scripted a historic turnaround when he registered three victories in 14 games without a defeat en route to his Candidates victory to earn a rematch against Carlsen.

The 44-year-old Indian said delay in addressing his errors cost him the World title and it was his decision to stay away from chess, which helped him to recover emotionally and bounce back with a bang.

"I think many errors had cropped up in my approach to play chess. I was becoming reliant on computers and there were some mistakes coming up. I was not oblivious to it but I was not able to address the problem exactly right. I didn't have time to fix anything," Anand, who was to highlight the role of chess in Business Analytics in an NIIT event, said.

"I remembered long back once after the end of an event, me and (Anatoly) Karpov were talking. He mentioned that a player who had a bad tournament will take long time to recover from bad result because he was so much in love with the game and he didn't have something else to take his mind off chess.

"So I decided that it was more important to recover emotionally, after all, a result like this knocks the stuffing out of you. So in December and January, I was trying to avoid chess. There were some tournaments which were unavoidable but most of the time I tried to get away from chess," he said.

After losing his World Championship title, Anand bowed out in the group stage of the London rapid and also his performance at Zurich in March was not upto the mark.

Anand said: "May be my opponents didn't focus on me properly or probably I was playing more freely. I had one of my best results in Candidates and I'm playing in World Championship in November.

"I got my confidence back and I am very optimistic now. I know even if I face the same mistakes, I will act now differently," added Anand, who held the World title from 2007 to 2013.

Anand said he carried a lot of his World championship preparations to the Candidates tournament.

"I was also lucky in a way that since my approach to the match backfired, I didn't get to use lot of my preparations and they were still there which I could carry over to the Candidates," he said.

"I had a short training camp in February. I thought it was enough and it was more important to spend time at home, play with my son and wait for the hunger to come back and when I went to Khanty (Mansiysk), the first game went brilliantly, it was my first win over (Levon) Aronian and it gave a big boost to me," added Anand, a Padma Vibhushan awardee.

Anand says he has a fair idea where he wants to work on before he takes on Carlsen later this year.

"I have a fair bit of idea what I want to change and what I think went wrong. So I have an idea what I want to do. So I will choose my team accordingly. But right now, I don't want to give any details," Anand said.

"Secondly, I'm waiting for the bid. The bidding procedure will finish by the end of this month. So after that we will have an idea of the venue. It is roughly scheduled for November but I just want it to be confirmed," he added.

Asked about his upcoming tournaments, Anand said he will play a lot of rapid events this year.

"At the moment I am scheduled to play in Corsica in May. It is an exhibition event, then there is World Rapid and Blitz Championships (June 15-21) in Dubai and then I have an event in Geneva. I might put in another tournament but it depends on my training schedule. It is all very tentative," he said.

"It is nice to play rapid chess again. Last year, I didn't get to play any rapid event, so it is good. This year, I will compensate for last year," he added.

Asked if it would be a revenge match, Anand said: "Ya, well I will try to take the confidence to the World Chess Championship. It is inevitable that we will remember some aspects of that match but I will try to take it as a fresh match.

"The previous results will obviously have some influence on my thoughts but it will be a different match. I will try to change the course and he is going to anticipate. I will think about what happened and try to give it a different twist this time," he said. -- PTI

Friday, March 28, 2014

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has released his second YouTube video with views on the Khanty Mansiysk World Chess Candidates 2014. Carlsen expects Anand to qualify for the revenge/return match for the world title that the Indian chess superstar lost to Carlsen in November 2013. Carlsen also "revises" his opinion of Sergey Karjakin's play considering the latter's comeback of sorts in the Candidates so much so that he is now the only person theoretically standing in Anand's way... along with possibly Aronian who is the top seed and top tournament favoure. Two more rounds are to be played in Khanty Mansiysk.

World Chess Champion's first video (6th round) comments on the Khanty Mansiysk World Chess Candidates 2014.

Little more than a month ago, Viswanathan Anand seemed to be in bad shape.

The former world champion had just finished second-last in an elite tournament in Zurich and was hyper-defensive about his form and his recent results.

A conversation with Anand immediately after the Zurich tournament became a matter of treading on eggshells. Any mention of November’s world title match in Chennai — even a neutral comment about the fine match organisation — was treated as if it were a joke in poor taste. Attempted small talk about the city of Zurich was taken as a side-swipe at Anand’s result in the Swiss town. Only cricket was a safe subject for conversation.

In the days after the Zurich tournament, Anand must have been wondering whether his decision to take up his place in the next world championship Candidates qualifier was correct. The venue, a mining town in Siberia, was hardly attractive, and betting agencies were not only giving Anand no chance of securing a world title rematch against Magnus Carlsen, they regarded him as a contender for last place.

In the back of the 44-year-old’s mind may have been the thought that the pundits who suggested that he should retire after his heavy defeat in November’s world title match against Carlsen were right.

Yet after a month at home in Chennai with his family, the former world champion has rediscovered his mojo.

Over the past fortnight at the Candidates tournament in Khanty Mansiysk, not only has Anand proved the doubters wrong, the veteran in the eight-player field is turning back the clock. After 10 rounds Anand enjoys what should be a decisive lead in the elite tournament — a success which would be only his second classical tournament victory in the past six years.

Anand started the tournament with a bang, beating world No. 2 Levon Aronian in the first round, a player who had been his nemesis during many of his years as world champion. Since then Anand has slipped into the once-feared persona of the Tiger of Madras, playing quickly, controlling the games, and putting pressure on his opponents.Single second

Anand is working in Siberia with a single second, Sandipan, rather than a team and both seem to have adjusted to the freezing weather admirably.

Contrary to advice — which arrived like junk mail after the loss to Carlsen — Anand has not significantly changed his style. Anand’s opponents in the Candidates tournament have frequently provoked sharp battles — unwisely believing that this was the best path to success against a supposedly fading champion — and they have played into Anand’s hands.

Not surprisingly, the pundits who were so keen to write off the Indian veteran are jumping on the Anand bandwagon, quoting top 10 Grandmaster Alexander Grischuk who said that the conundrum was not why Anand played so well in Khanty Manisysk but why he played so badly in the period beforehand.

A missed chance in the fifth round against tailender Dmitry Andreikin was the first sign of fallibility by Anand, leaving a chasing pack of Vladimir Kramnik, Aronian and Peter Svidler with hopes of spoiling the ex-world champion’s comeback. However, Anand has stayed calm and undefeated while his rivals pushed too hard and lost key games.

In theory the final stages of the exhausting three-week tournament should be most difficult for the oldest of the eight competitors. However, at the post-game press conferences Anand has looked as fresh as any of the younger Grandmasters and with four rounds to play Anand appears determined to earn a second bout against Carlsen.

Ian Rogers is an Australian Grandmaster and this article originally appeared in The Hindu.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Khanty Mansiysk, Russia: Written off by critics and experts, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand has come back with a big bang and is the most likely contender to challenge Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the next world championship match to be held later this year.

Five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand on track to setting up a second World Championship meeting with Magnus Carlsen. Photo: FIDE/Kirill Merkuriev

Leading by a full point with five rounds still to come in the Khanty Mansiysk World Chess Candidates, Anand's lead is effectively 1.5 points if one considers the tiebreak according to which the individual encounter comes on top.

With six points in his bag, Anand is followed by Aronian, whom he has beaten 1.5-0.5 in the personal encounters, while the rest of the field is at least 1.5 points away.

In the remaining five rounds, the Indian ace has to play three white games as well which could well mean curtains for opposition barring a debacle for Anand or an unlikely huge upswing for opponents.

As things stand, Russians Sergey Karjakin and Vladimir Kramnik share the third spot on 4.5 points and both have white pieces against Anand in the coming rounds. The other player on same points is Shakhriayar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan who has been having a topsy-turvy tournament.

Given the history, Anand has been coping well with both Russians comfortably and is likely to squeeze through this time also. The Indian has white against Mamedyarov in the next round itself.

If Anand wins, this will be the biggest ever comeback in recent times for anyone as the Indian ace had been struggling for a long time before this tournament.

Levon Aronian is the man closest and he must be rueing the last game when he lost to Mamedyarov. More than hits, the Candidates this year has been more about the misses and Aronian and Kramnik head the list.

While things are far from over, it is clear that Anand holds a dominant position in the 1,35,000 euros first prize tournament.

The Indian has white games against Andreikin and Svidler too which should give him the confidence to win this tournament, the biggest event since the World Chess Championship of 2007 which was played on similar format.

Kramnik on 4.5 points has a lot to worry about too as his game against Anand will be crucial in the coming days. For now the third rest day puts the Indian way ahead of the others. -- PTI

Thursday, March 20, 2014

WARNING: This article is strictly for Magnus Carlsen fans. We cannot be sued for offending those in other camps.

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen is a very hungry guy. He is sure to be preparing for a sumptuous dinner this November. Let's just take a look at the likely menu choices as the World Chess Candidates is currently on in Khanty Mansiysk.

1 - Milk and cereal (Viswanathan Anand): Surely this is a tried and tested meal choice for the World Chess Champion. The publicity will be huge as in HUGE for the 'revenge match' - something Anand fans have been fantasising from the very day Magnus Carlsen won the title. Anand will, this time around, do everything he did not do the first time. Also, the home pressure would not be there for the five-time World Champion. Magnus Carlsen can take his already ready prep to the next level.

Chess Chef's Verdict: Magnus Carlsen will relish this meal choice.

2 - Bulgarian Poisonberry (Veselin Topalov): Very unpredictable and highly dangerous. Only yesterday, Topalov beat Vladimir Kramnik in Round 6 at the World Chess Candidates. They had last met in 2008. Not much is known how Topalov has developed his game in the last few years except that he convincingly won the Grand Prix series to earn that ticket to Khanty Mansiysk. No mean feat by any standards.Chess Chef's verdict: Magnus, eat just a bit, check, cross-check that it is not poisonous, then chew hard.3 - Russian Vodka (Sergey Karjakin): The World Champion is now old enough to replace the orange juice. ;) This should keep the World Champion warm. Karjakin has already been preparing for the Big Title and had even vowed that he would bring the title back to Russia. Carlsen has a slight psychological edge remembering the 92-move win over Karjakin at Tata Steel last year prompting GM Gawain Jones to remark: Carlsen squeezed blood out of a stone. Chess Chef's verdict: Magnus, you can stomach this just take it sip by sip (game by game) and follow up with your quintessential sledgehammer style. 4 - Magnolia Cheese Balls (Dmitry Andreikin): It is unlikely that Andreikin could make it to the world title match particularly considering the standings after Round 6. But, if he does, Magnus Carlsen would have to keep his head down, focus and work just as hard as on any other candidate. 'This very Russian snack' is likely to receive support from every single GM who has ever lost to Carlsen.Chess Chef's verdict: Keep the orange juice, keep the focus and gobble. 5 - Borsch (Vladimir Kramnik): The very traditional Russian dish that needs to be kept a day before being served. Kramnik has been there, done that. He would bring the traditional Russian chess understanding and modern killer prep to the table. The match might start slowly, but Kramnik could really go for carpet bombing after a few days into the match. He has, like Karjakin, some scores to settle with a certain Mr Carlsen. Psst: London Chess Classic was it? Chess Chef's verdict: Don't rush, eat slowly and carefully. Magnus, your stomach can take it.6 - Harissa (Levon Aronian): made with coarsely ground wheat and the national dish of Armenia - is said to have helped the Armenians survive during the Resistance of 1915. Aronian has that great power of resistance and he has been World No. 2 long enough to be a logical person to snatch the title from Magnus Carlsen. Aronian has a Saint-Louis revenge to take care of. Strongly grounded chess, loads of talent and the support of a huge fan base thanks to his geniality, Aronian might be a little tough to digest. Chess Chef's verdict: Will be a little hard to chew. Sharpen forks and knives (opening prep). Remove Play Magnus from the Apple store. Eat after tearing to pieces (playing long drawn games if required)

7 - Spicy Russian Soup (Peter Svidler): Fireworks, running nose, watering eyes, brimstone and fire could be the result of trying this dish in November. This guy could have helped India write chess history differently. He almost took Magnus Carlsen to the jaws of death at the London Chess Candidates, but for Goddess Caissa's benevolence. Peter Svidler will be supported by the entire Russian Chess Machinery and the Indian Chess Machinery if he makes it to the next big clash. (Don't forget, Svidler is likely to receive support from all cricket fans in India as well).

8 - Badambura (Shakhriyar Mamedyarov): The popular Azerbaijani pastry filled with sugar, cinnamon, and finely chopped nuts. Not discounting the European Champion's talent, but he has a tough task to conquer Khanty Mansiysk. If Badambura does get served in November, Magnus Carlsen might be set a record in jumping into swimming pools.

Friday, February 7, 2014

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has tweeted that he has launched his YouTube Channel where he would be posting chess videos of interest including those of his own of course. We've just clicked subscribe without a second thought. Have you?

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen demolished 20 chess players in a special simul in Las Vegas recently. It was thanks to Nordic Semiconductor kick-starts sponsorship with the World Chess Champion by hosting a HRM chess tournament at the CES in Las Vegas. Contributing with its ultra low power wireless connectivity solutions within heart rate monitoring, Nordic aims to add a new level of excitement to the chess sport. Here's the video and read the full report in our earlier post: Magnus Carlsen Crushes 20 in Las Vegas Chess Simul.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

MANIMAL MAGNUS: World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and US #1 Hikaru Nakamura before their blood-spilling, gut-wrenching showdown. Who could guess? The Norwegian would be outplayed, smothered and destroyed..., but live to have the last laugh!

Photo: Maria Emelianova

Zurich Chess Challenge 2014: A National Geographic report dated 2006 states South Florida wildlife researchers found a dead python that had burst after eating a 6-foot-long American alligator. Saturday night no wildlife researchers were available at Savoy Hotel Baur en Ville Zurich, but the news report was essentially the same. US #1 Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura chewed the World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen move by move. Black was toast.

26. ... Bxb2

Carlsen said he did not realise he was going down until Nakamura played 24.Qg4 (24. ...Nb6 25.Be2 Nd6 26. Rdh1) 26...Bxb2 (diagram above) was "completely desperate but I thought it was my only chance," Carlsen said in the post-game conference. "That's what it's about, keeping the game one move longer". The game proceeded. Ten moves later, Black is still worth a sumptuous dinner.

36. ... Qg6

Nakamura has obtained a big attack in this animal versus animal battle. "There must be so many ways to win," confessed Magnus Carlsen himself. But the American python had gobbled enough and couldn't digest it. He exploded with 37.d6?! when he could have jolly well tried 37.Qf1 b5 38.Rxh7!! going for the throat with mating combinations.

37. d6

“I played pretty badly. I sort of underestimated his attack. The whole setup is a little bit risky,” said the World Champion, but "It's a bit of a freak occurence that he doesn't win." Nakamura skipped the post-game press conference. Understandably so.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 Pairings Blitz: The strongest chess tournament in history has two other attractions - First, the new World Chess Champion is playing his first chess tournament after picking up the world title. Second, he is meeting his 'victim' former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand for the first time after the November, 2013 debacle.

Magnus Carlsen on his way to crushing Viswanathan Anand in the Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 pairings blitz Round 4 on Wednesday night.

A blitz chess tournament was played on Wednesday, January 29, to determine the colour distribution for the main Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 which includes five rounds of classical chess to be played from Thursday to Monday (30 January to 3 February), followed by a rapid tournament with reversed colors on the last day (4 February).

Everyone was focused on just one game really particularly after Magnus Carlsen 'lost' the first round blitz game to Fabiano Caruana!

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and his predecessor met in Round 4 and the Indian Grandmaster handed the Norwegian a cool checkmate in three that is bound to keep Carlsen fans exulting and Anand fans gnashing their teeth for a long time to come.

Take a try at the chess position yourself: Carlsen-Anand 1-0. Anand has just played 20. ...Nc6. Anand resigned on Magnus Carlsen's next move which actually forces a checkmate in three!

What did Magnus Carlsen play and Anand resign?

(Expect the position to go down in chess puzzle books across the planet)

Here is also the livestream video of the game Carlsen - Anand from the Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 pairings blitz. All games were commented by GM Yannick Pelletier and IM Werner Hug and broadcast live via the Internet. Don't miss their excellent commentary and chat.

Here are the pairings for the 'actual' Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 tournament with classical and rapid games:

For complete tournament reports on the Zurich Chess Challenge 2014, continue to follow our main website www.blackandwhiteindia.com. You can also access the official website of the Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 here. -- Rajat Sinha

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 — The strongest tournament in chess history to date begins Wednesday, January 29 at the Hotel Savoy. This is going to be the first chess tournament in the history of the game to claim a level of Category 23 with an amazing average rating of 2801!

Destiny is cruel and chess destiny can be crueler still: The newly-crowned World Chess Champion and his 'victim' Viswanathan Anand will meet again for the first time after the November 2013 World Chess Championship. This will be Magnus Carlsen's first tournament appearance after winning the world title. Anand has already played the London Chess Classic in December 2013 which Carlsen did not attend.

The chess greats - Anand and Carlsen - are to meet twice over the board in Zurich not counting the blitz event for deciding the pairings.

A blitz tournament will determine the color distribution on the first day (29 January). Five rounds of classical chess will then be played from Thursday to Monday (30 January to 3 February), followed by a rapid tournament with reversed colors on the last day (4 February).

We expect a 'respectful' draw between Anand and Carlsen in the classical game without any fodder for the hungry fans or salivating journalists. But, if Anand were to win he would make a point: That he did have the requisite weapons ready in November 2013 itself, but "read Carlsen wrong" as he has commented before. If Carlsen were to win... it's going to be driving the nail back in with greater pain. Anand chess fans, keep fingers crossed.

The other players are the Armenian Levon Aronian (2), the American Hikaru Nakamura (3), the US-Italian Fabiano Caruana (6), as well as the Israeli Boris Gelfand (8).

This brilliant event, which will take place in the extraordinary familial environment of the ballroom of the Hotel Savoy, has already caught the attention throughout the world and led to the registration of many journalists and top-players, including Peter Leko, Jan Timman and Gennadi Sosonko.

Further, the Chinese women's world-champion Hou Yifan will attend this unique occasion and will be playing a simultaneous exhibition with clocks against 6 top Swiss juniors on 1 February at 1 p.m. at the Zurich 'Zunfthaus zur Saffran'.

The owner of IGC International Gemological Laboratories», Mr. Oleg Skvortsov, is the creator of this chess event. He not only loves chess, but also plays chess and supports chess events. Furthermore, Mr. Skvortsov knows many of the greatest chess players in the world personally and has played a lot of games with them.

A press release states, the Zurich Chess Club is very proud to be the organizer and host of this unique event and it would like to thank the main tournament sponsor and chess-enthusiast Oleg Skvortsov, whose generous contribution has allowed for this extraordinary event to take place!

All games will be commented by GM Yannick Pelletier and IM Werner Hug and broadcast live via the Internet.

Admission to the classical and rapid games is free, no previous registration is required. Due to limited room capacity, the Opening Ceremony and the blitz tournament are for official guests only.

Daily from 30 January to 4 February 2014.The rounds start at 15.00 local time (CET), except for the last round, which begins at 13.00 CET.Spectators are welcome, entrance free.

Main sponsor

«IGC International Gemological Laboratories» is a Russian institute providing gemological services, such as diamond grading reports, enhanced diamonds identification, man-made/synthetic diamonds and imitation detection, as well as certification of diamonds, gemstones and jewelry in the Russian Federation. IGC is the Russian branch of «GCI» a group of gemological laboratories located worldwide.

Co-sponsors

Aspeco, SurJewel, Savoy Chess Corner, Zurich Chess Club (founded in 1809, the oldest chess club of the world)

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen took virtually no time in demolishing the world's richest man for a long, long time, Bill Gates, Thursday night on a Norwegian-Swedish television talk show hosted by Norwegian journalist Fredrik Skavlan. It was a checkmate in nine moves and just about one minute, 20 or so seconds. Gates had already said, "The outcome is a foregone conclusion," as the chessboard was being brought to the stage.

Carlsen said, "He was a bit unlucky and eventually fell to my tactics, but he otherwise made good, healthy moves. I think with a little more time, he could certainly be a pretty good player."

"When you are not smart?" Fredrik Skavlan asked Bill Gates. "When I play chess against him," responded the Microsoft founder, nodding towards Carlsen. "Want to try?" asks Skavlan. "The outcome is a foregone conclusion, responded Gates. The program, clips of which Reuters received in advance, was recorded on Wednesday in London, Norwegian TV NRK said.

Magnus Carlsen took the world by storm as a child prodigy, becoming an international Grand Master at 13. At 19, he was the youngest chess player to be ranked number one in the world, and at 22, in November 2013, he defeated five-time former world champion Viswanathan Anand. Now, at age 23, Magnus holds a record rating of 2872.

Be inspired by Magnus as he is interviewed by entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel, former US-rated Chess Master with a lifelong passion for chess. Topics covered are Magnus' views on the game, his experience winning the championship, and the role he believes chess can play in advancing young people's critical thinking, social skills, and ability to achieve academically.

Prior to the onstage program, Magnus played in a six-board simultaneous chess demonstration. Participants entered in a drawing benefiting First Move, a dynamic non-profit organization that brings chess to second and third graders across the country—and the winner became one of the six brave players.

Program Partners:Silicon Valley BankFirst Move

Gold Sponsor:Silicon Valley Bank

Silver Sponsors:Innovation NorwayThe Mendell Family Foundation

* The Churchill ClubIgniting Conversations to Encourage Innovation and Economic GrowthThis is our focus: to cultivate a one-stop-shop of world-class people—people like yourself—that ignites the kinds of conversations that lead to new ideas, enlivened dreams and personal motivation. A tall order, for sure, but one we’ve been successful at for 25 years.

It’s an impressive list, but it would be no more than a roster if we weren’t committed to the idea of an independent forum that facilitates the open and timely exchange of ideas, opinions and viewpoints among business leaders and innovators. At the Churchill Club, collaborators and competitors meet on stage to share and discuss their newest thinking. They commit to have unscripted conversations that go beyond the hype. Attendees have the opportunity to ask questions directly of speakers, uncensored by the moderator.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

World Chess Champion Makes a Winning Move with America's Foundation for Chess

SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 16, 2014 -- /PRNewswire/ -- How will Magnus Carlsen top 2013, the history-making year he became World Chess Champion and holds the highest rating of all time? He's joining forces with America's Foundation for Chess (AF4C) to bring the First Move chess program into elementary school classrooms as a tool for enhancing critical and creative thinking skills.

As part of this effort, Magnus Carlsen has agreed to be Honorary Chairman for the non-profit joining a prestigious group of sponsors including Paul Tudor Jones, Silicon Valley Bank, Concur, Qualcomm, ZMD and Two Sigma. This initial grant is the first step toward raising $5M to bring the First Move program to half a million students by 2017. Optimized for second and third grade classrooms, this formal and interactive chess curriculum gives teachers a powerful tool to engage children in learning chess while providing critical skills that will benefit them for years to come.

Carlsen has seen first-hand how First Move engages students, regardless of gender or background. He also recognizes the importance of teaching chess during the school day to give every student the opportunity to learn and benefit from the centuries old game.

"I love the way chess empowers kids," said Carlsen. "I consider First Move to be the most strategic way to give kids an advantage and help them live up to their full potential."

As Honorary Chairman, Carlsen will announce his partnership with America's Foundation for Chess tonight at a special event hosted by Silicon Valley Bank and the Churchill Club, sponsored by Innovation Norway. Magnus will play six people simultaneously while blindfolded followed by an interview with avid chess player Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Facebook investor, to talk about Magnus' rise in the chess world, the value of chess and the impact on kids.

About Magnus Carlsen: At age 23, Carlsen's already storied career makes him a dream champion for the cause. Born in 1990 in Norway, Magnus became a Grandmaster at thirteen years and four months. He was the youngest player ever to be ranked number one in the world at the age of 19. In January 2013, he achieved the highest rating in the history of chess beating Garry Kasparov's legendary record from 1999. In November 2013, he became the World Chess Champion making him the first World Champion from a Western country since Bobby Fischer in 1972. His many accolades extend beyond the chess world; but the game remains his passion, and he welcomes the chance to share it.

About First Move: America's Foundation for Chess developed the First Move curriculum based on the belief that chess is good for kids and schools need powerful tools to engage students and teach critical thinking skills. The interactive program currently reaches over 80,000 students in 24 states and four countries, and builds coveted skills both on and beyond the chess board, including concentration and focus, self-motivation, memory-building and the ability to analyze, plan and execute.

"We worked hard to develop an engaging and turnkey program that helps teachers inspire new avenues of thinking, levels the playing field and builds confidence," said Erik Anderson, Founder of America's Foundation for Chess. "The program has been a great success; we have schools on a wait list and over 300,000 kids in line to receive First Move."

America's Foundation for Chess encourages districts and elementary schools that are interested in First Move and the Magnus Carlsen Critical Thinking Grant to contact them at info@af4c.org or to visit http://af4c.org.

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We've been celebrating the World Chess Championship 2013. The new World Chess Champion is Magnus Carslen, but we will continue to post links, views, features surrounding the World Chess Championship 2013 for the sheer joy of having witnessed chess history being created. Feel free to share opinion, links, and even point out errors - no matter which side you have been cheering for. Let's just continue celebrating a historic chess event. (Email: editor@blackandwhiteindia.com)